Judge Says Twiqbal Should Apply To Patent Cases

Law360, New York (March 12, 2014, 7:25 PM EDT) -- While dismissing most of Macronix International Co. Ltd.’s patent infringement claims against Spansion Inc. on Monday, a Virginia federal judge argued that patent complaints should be subject to the heightened Twombly and Iqbal pleading standard in order to reduce unnecessary litigation.

In a lengthy and exasperated opinion, U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne argued that patent infringement complaints should be subject to the pleading standard outlined in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Twombly and Iqbal decisions, and scolded Taiwan-based semiconductor company Macronix for taking a “blunderbluss approach” to...